Tony Kurdzuk/The Star-LedgerState Assemblywoman Connie Wagner (D-Bergen) in a 2008 file photo.TRENTON -- Electronic cigarettes look like the real thing. And in New Jersey, lawmakers want to treat them the same way.
That's why the Assembly voted unanimously today to ban the sale of e-cigarettes to people under 19, and prohibit adults from smoking them at work and in public places.
The Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee also gave unanimous backing to the legislation.
E-cigarettes look like the actual cigarettes but don't contain tobacco. A metal tube with a battery heats up a nicotine solution allowing smokers to breathe in vapor. They have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, which in July issued an advisory the devices contain carcinogens and toxic chemicals such as diethylene glycol, an ingredient used in antifreeze.
Assemblywoman Connie Wagner (D-Bergen), a sponsor, said she's concerned e-cigarettes are being marketed to children because they offer flavors like chocolate, banana and strawberry and could serve as a gateway to real cigarette use.
“These are dangerous devices and I want to make sure our children are protected,” Wagner said. “I’m very concerned that young people who use these things will get hooked on the nicotine and eventually move onto the real thing, opening the door to a lifetime of expensive and debilitating health problems.”

The Senate version of the bills (S3053 and S3054) now heads to the full Senate for a floor vote.